The Dragon's Dream
by Lithos Maitreya
Summary: When Yang woke up on Christmas morning, it was to a day to be spent with family; a day filled with gifts, and good food, and mutual understanding. Consider this my gift to Team RWBY.


**A/N: Just a short little affair for Christmas, because my family got me Blake and Yang figurines and it got me thinking about gifts and how they work.**

 **Happy holidays, all. I used Christmas because it has the most robust gift-giving tradition, which is what this story is about, but I myself celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas because of my religiously-divided family. Whatever you celebrate, I hope it's better to you than most of this year has been to all of us.**

* * *

 _The Dragon's Dream_

* * *

When Yang woke up on Christmas morning, it was to the gentle breathing of a warm body beside her.

A smile graced her lips as Blake shifted in bed.

"Morning, kitty-cat," she purred.

Blake turned toward her and nuzzled sleepily into her side. "Mornin', Yang," she mumbled.

Yang curled around her and planted a gently kiss between her ears. "How'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Well," Blake yawned, blinking blearily and then meeting her eyes with liquid gold. "Not _too_ well, of course. But well."

Yang grinned at her. "Glad to hear I'm worth staying up for," she said teasingly.

Blake rolled her eyes and hooked her right leg over Yang's waist, rolling them so that she was on top. She stretched sensuously, the covers falling away to reveal her naked torso as her back arched away. "I just hope you didn't keep the others up, too," she said lightly, "with all the noise you were making."

Yang sat up, bringing their skin into contact, and kissed her partner hungrily. Blake reciprocated with vigor, but then pulled away.

"Come on, firecracker," she said, a faint rumble to her voice as a purr built in her chest. "Not the time. It's _morning_. Christmas morning, at that."

Yang sighed. "Yeah," she agreed. "Yeah, I guess. Give me a second to get dressed."

Blake spread her arms as she got off of the blonde, opening her body to reveal her nudity. "I think I'll need a bit too," she said with a chuckle. "Unless you _want_ me walking downstairs like this?"

Yang snorted as she slung her legs over the side of the bed, bare feet setting lightly down onto the wooden floor. " _I'd_ enjoy it," she allowed. "Don't want everyone getting too jealous, though."

Blake snorted as she reached for her discarded clothes. " _Riiiiight_ ," she said, extending the syllable sarcastically. "No jealousy on your part? No desire to, I don't know, hide me away from prying eyes?"

"The only one hiding you, Blake," Yang said gently as she took up the ribbon on her end table and held it out for her girlfriend to take, "is you."

Blake stiffened for a moment, and then looked away, continuing to pull on her leggings. "I don't think I need that here," she said, and there was a tightness to her voice. "Do you?"

Yang sighed. "Whatever makes you comfortable," she said. "No one's going to judge you either way. Do you want it or not? That's the only question."

Blake looked back at the ribbon, took it, and threw it on the other end table after a moment. "No," she decided. "Not today."

Yang poked her in the feline ear while she wasn't looking. It twitched, and Blake glared at her. "Well, I think you're plenty adorable either way," she said. "So it's your call."

Blake rolled her eyes at her with an indulgent smile.

* * *

"Have a good time?" her father asked as they came downstairs, hand in hand. One of his yellow eyebrows was so high up on his head that Yang thought it might fly away on its own. "It sure sounded like it."

Blake flushed beside her, but Yang just met his amused gaze with her own. "Oh, you just _wish_ you were getting any," she challenged jokingly.

He rolled his eyes. "Kids these days," he grumbled without rancor. "Thinking sex is all that matters."

Yang bumped Blake with her hip. "Nah," she said, grinning, and kissed her partner on the cheek. "The sex _is_ good, though."

Blake gave her a look through narrowed eyes that might have been intended to be angry, but wound up just making Yang wish they were back in the bedroom.

"YANG!" Ruby's voice bellowed. Yang turned to look up the staircase. Her little sister was flushed and her silver eyes were narrowed with rage. "You two need to learn to keep it _down_!"

Yang put a hand on her hip. "What?" she asked tauntingly. "Did Weiss get _frisky_?"

Ruby spluttered, but before she could respond, Yang had a different pillow thrown in her face from higher up the stairwell.

"Don't be a brute, Yang," Wiess ordered primly as she descended. "It's Christmas. I won't have it ruined by _you_."

Yang rolled her eyes as she tossed back the pillow. "Oh, you know you love me," she chuckled.

"Careful," Blake breathed in her ear. "You might not get jealous, but _I_ do."

Yang gave her a sidelong grin and put an arm around her waist.

"Well, you're all up just in time," her father announced, pulling open the oven behind her. "Breakfast is ready!"

* * *

"Next time, Dad?" Yang said lightly. "I'm cooking."

"Hey!" Taiyang yelped, indignant.

"No offense," Yang said placatingly over Ruby's stifled giggles. "I'm just, you know, team mom."

Taiyang glared at her. "Fine, _you_ can cook Christmas dinner."

Yang nodded. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying," she agreed. " _I_ can cook Christmas dinner, you _can't_."

Blake snorted beside her. Yang smiled proudly.

Taiyang shook his head. "I don't have to take this," he grumbled. "I'm going to go open presents."

Ruby squealed. "PRESENTS!"

Yang chuckled as she stood up and, after helping Blake rise with a hand in hers, followed the bolt of rose petals into the living room where a great cypress, nearly ten feet tall, dominated the space as it rested in the corner. Beneath its boughs were packaged boxes and bags in colorful wrapping.

Yang took her place on the loveseat and Blake happily took the one beside her, curling warmly into her side. Ruby practically vibrated beside the pile of presents, and Zwei was right there with her, bouncing up and down on all four feet.

Weiss rolled her eyes at these shenanigans as she, too, took a seat by the mantelpiece. Taiyang sat on a chair close to the tree.

"Well, Ruby?" he said. "Pick one!"

Ruby bound into the pile and tossed around for a box. "Here!" she exclaimed. "From… Blake!"

She turned back to face the group and tore open the parcel, then squealed as she saw its contents. " _THE BLUEPRINTS FOR GAMBOL SHROUD?_ " she exclaimed at a deafening pitch. "Blake, I… why?"

Blake chuckled, the vibration running pleasantly through Yang's body. "I figure if I ever need repairs, I'll want the best weaponsmith I know to have the blueprints," she said lightly. "You like them?"

"Oh, do I _ever_!" Ruby said happily, poring over the pages. "I had no idea you incorporated the ribbon into the firing mechanism like that; I thought it was just on the trigger!"

"Well, Ruby?" Taiyang asked pleasantly. "Pick out one for someone else!"

"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, and turned back to the pile. "Weiss!" She tossed a package at the Schnee heiress. "It's from Yang!"

Yang cocked an eyebrow and watched as her teammate carefully unfolded the wrapping. Inside was a box, and in the box… "Oh, _Yang_ ," Weiss said, her voice wavering. "You shouldn't have."

A fluted glass decanter with a wooden ring about its thinnest point emerged from the packaging, along with a bag of South Menagerian coffee grounds.

"What, uh, what is it?" Ruby asked blankly.

"A pour-over coffee set," Weiss said, blinking. "One of the best ways to brew coffee. Preserves the flavor, but diminishes the bitterness. Yang, _how_? And how did you get the grounds—they cost more than _my_ allowance!"

Yang shrugged. "Eh, so I splurged a little," she said airily. "It's not like we're going into an unstable profession. I'm glad you like it."

"Yang, I love it," Weiss said, her eyes meeting the blonde's. "Thank you."

More gifts were given. Weiss gave Blake a Mistralian tea set, Ruby got their father a new set of gardening tools, and Taiyang got Blake…

"A pair of earplugs?" Yang asked him, one brow raised.

Taiyang nodded amiably. "If she's sleeping in the same room as you, she'll need them," he said.

"You know she has two pairs of ears, right?" Yang asked. Blake wiggled the feline ones for emphasis.

Taiyang rolled his eyes. "All right, fine," he acknowledged. "Here's the actual present."

The parcel was tossed over and opened. Inside was a velvety-black leather jacket of the same dimensions and cut as Blake's dark overcoat.

"Leather jackets are a Xiao Long thing," Taiyang said, and swallowed. "Could never force Ruby into one, but Yang wears one, I wear one, my dad wore one… And, well, even if you and Yang aren't… well. You're part of the family, Blake."

Blake's hands were shaking as she ran her fingers over the leather. "Thank you, Mr. Xiao Long," she said lowly.

Yang's father grimaced. "Call me Tai," he ordered. "Or, you know… Dad. If you prefer."

Yang pulled her girlfriend in close.

"Okay… Tai," Blake agreed hesitantly. "I… thank you. It means a lot."

Taiyang smiled. "I'm glad you like it," he said.

More followed. Weiss gave Ruby a polishing set for Crescent Rose as well as a pack of the SDC's peak-quality Dust. Blake gave Weiss a pair of sapphire earrings.

And now most of the presents under the tree were Yang's. "Come on, Yang," Ruby begged. "Open mine already!"

Yang rolled her eyes with a smile. "Fine," she agreed, and set to work on the offered package.

She smiled as it came apart. "Only you, Ruby," she said lightly.

A hand-made attachment for Ember Celica, modifying them for double-barreled fire.

"Do you like it?" Ruby asked anxiously.

Yang stood, crossed over to her, and embraced her. "I love it," she promised, giving her sister a kiss to the top of the head. "Go on, open mine."

Ruby acquiesced and set to work on the box. "A book?" she asked, before flipping it over. " _The Hero with a Thousand Faces_ ," she read, then blinked at Yang. "Professor Oobleck mentioned this in class, didn't he?"

Yang nodded. "It's about heroes," she said. "About what mythological and fairy-tale heroes share, no matter where on Remnant they come from."

Ruby looked down at the book. "It's… not what I expected," she admitted. "But… thanks, Yang."

Yang shrugged. "Try it," she advised. "I think you'll like it."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed as a smile spread across her face. "Yeah, I think I will." She zoomed over and put her arms around Yang. "Thanks, Big Sis."

Yang's face felt like it would split open with the force of her smile as she buried her nose in Ruby's shoulder. "No problem, Ruby," she said. "No problem at all."

As she pulled away, she said, "how about… Dad, next?"

Ruby nodded and returned to the tree, tossing a parcel back her way. Yang opened it.

A book; small, worn, and poorly-bound. It was barely holding together. Yang turned it over in her hands—there was no title or text on the surface.

She opened it.

 _Property of Raven Branwen_ was written in a flowing, natural script across the center of the first page.

"Your mother's diary," Taiyang said soflty, his voice shaking slightly. "I thought… well, you're eighteen now. I can't keep this from you forever."

Yang blinked down at the book before her for a moment before closing it with a snap and looking over at her father. "I'll look at it later," she promised. "I… thanks, Dad."

He gave her a sad smile. "I… I guess I'll be waiting to talk to you about whatever you find in there," he said.

Her lips twitched into a wry grin. "I guess you're not looking forward to that?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter," he said. "You deserve to know." He glanced at Ruby. "Did Yang get _me_ anything, or…?"

Ruby handed him a box. He smiled as he opened it. "Oh, my," he breathed.

He pulled the object out—a plaque, in engraved glass over gold, reading:

 _Taiyang Xiao Long  
Best Dad Ever_

"Thank you, Yang," he said, choking on the words.

She gave him a grin. "It's just true," she assured him. "Weiss' turn!"

Ruby passed her a package. Yang pulled it open.

"A dress?" she asked, standing to let it flow open to see it fully, and then gasped.

Not just any dress—golden, flowing fabric with a tasteful dusting of diamonds at the base of the bodice and a gown that would trail several feet behind her. The thing was strapless but came with matching gloves which ran down from the upper forearm down to fingerless gloves, still in that same silken gold.

"Your dress was so _simple_ at the dance," Weiss said. "You can do better."

Yang blinked at her. "And you were saying _my_ gift was expensive," she mumbled. "This must have been more lien than I see in a year."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "As if the money is an issue," she said. "Just do me a favor and make sure Blake doesn't tear it apart too quickly, would you?"

Yang flushed. "No promises, if I look as good in it as I think I will," she said. "Weiss… thanks."

Weiss smiled at her. "You're quite welcome," she said.

Ruby took up a parcel wrapped in black, but Blake cleared her throat. "Um, can we save my gift for last?" she asked. "I… I don't want to get distracted."

Ruby shrugged. "Sure. Here's yours from Yang." She passed Yang's girlfriend a parcel even as Yang wrapped up the dress again.

Blake opened the package. Out came a book, but in the book were slipped several scraps of paper.

" _The Complete Works of William Shakespeare_ ," Blake read.

"I noticed you didn't have a canon," Yang said. "Thought I'd correct that."

Blake hugged her. "How do you do it, Yang?" she asked. "You're always so… observant. You see what we want better than we do."

"Hey, I'm not done yet," Yang complained. "Open it!"

Blake did, and blinked at the first four objects contained on the first page.

"Bookmarks," she murmured, plucking them from the page. One was red, with a red ribbon atop it, and emblazoned with Ruby's burning rose. The second was white with a silver ribbon, and emblazoned with Weiss' snowflake. The third was yellow with a gold ribbon, and on it was Yang's burning heart emblem. The fourth, of course, was deep gray with Blake's own black flame on it and a violet ribbon atop it.

Yang smiled. "Like them?" she asked.

Blake kissed her. Yang laughed into her lips and pushed her away. "Hey," she chided. " _Still_ not done."

Blake shook her head wonderingly as she turned the page again. A ribbon, long and gold, lay neatly folded on the paper.

"For Gambol Shroud," Yang explained. "If… if you want it."

Blake curled into her. "I'll add it tonight," she promised. "Thank you, Yang."

"One more thing," Yang said.

Blake stared at her. "You just don't know when to stop, do you?" she asked wonderingly.

Yang shrugged. "Hey, what can I say?" she said with a grin. "I just wanna spoil you rotten."

Blake shook her head and turned another page.

"Tickets?" she asked, picking them up and examining them.

"Two," Yang said. "For a trip around Remnant. Boat from Sanus to Menagerie, then an airship from Menagerie to Mistral. Then another airship from Mistral to Vacuo, and a last one back to Vale. They're for next summer, but they can be rescheduled. For you and… and whoever you want to bring."

Blake blinked at her, and then flicked her with a finger. "Don't be an idiot, Yang," she said. "Of course I'm bringing you." Then she kissed her again, and it was hot and passionate and yang could barely constrain her hands to only wrapping around the faunus' body and not fiddling with the buttons of her coat.

At length, they pulled away and Blake reached out to Ruby, who gave her a box in black. She handed it to Yang.

Yang opened it. Inside was another box. Small, and of a very distinctive curved shape.

"Yang," Blake said quietly. "There's another gift in there. If you want that to be your only present, just don't open the box. It's your call. We can forget that that was there."

Yang blinked at the small package in her shaking hands, her eyes settling on the words, 'Marigold Jewelers' in silver just below the line where it would open. "Blake…" she whispered.

"It's your call, Yang," Blake said gently.

Very deliberately, Yang opened the small package and slipped the gold-and-diamond ring onto the finger of her left hand. "That's my call," she said.

Blake curled back into her, wrapping her arms around her, even as the rest of the room began to applaud, Ruby laughing in breathless jubilation. Yang swallowed. "I'm going to see what the rest of this is," she said clearly, "and then you and I are going back up to my room, and we're not leaving for a few hours. Sound good?"

"Sounds _great_ ," Blake purred.

"Ew," Ruby mumbled. Weiss snorted.

Yang reached back into the package and pulled out a small parcel of a wide-woven fabric, partially transparent, inside were some sort of pressed leaves.

She blinked at it.

"Catnip," Blake murmured. "Top quality; hard to find. We can use it later."

Yang cocked an eyebrow at her. "Use it?" she asked.

Blake gave her a smoldering look. "Never seen what catnip does to a faunus?" she asked.

"Nope," Yang said breathlessly.

"Want to?"

Yang swallowed. "Sorry, Dad, Ruby, Weiss, gotta run."

Their laughter—and Ruby's exaggerated retching—followed the two up the stairs.

* * *

"Well," Yang said as she returned to the living room, stretching, "I said I'd make dinner, so here I am."

"Finished?" Taiyang asked lightly.

"For now," Yang chuckled, entering the kitchen. "Any requests for dinner?"

"Ooh, ooh," Ruby called from the couch and the television, where she and Weiss were playing some game or other. "Can we have that stir-fry you make?"

Yang chuckled. "Sure, Ruby. Weiss, any requests?"

"A salad?" Weiss suggested.

Yang rolled her eyes. "You'll need to be more specific," she said. "How about…" she opened a few cabinets, studied the stock. "I could pull off a walnut-and-craisin green salad?"

"That sounds delicious," Weiss assured her.

It was then that Blake descended the stairs. Yang's eyes immediately sought her.

"I make a _mean_ tilapia filet," she said. "Sound good?"

Blake gave her a warm smile. "Sounds _wonderful_."

Yang smiled back and got to work. Blake joined her. The faunus was a little less experienced in the kitchen, but she was still a help—chopping the vegetables for Weiss' salad almost before being asked and not looking more than very slightly pathetic when Yang pulled the uncooked tilapia away from her.

"It'll be better when it's, you know, _food_ ," Yang promised wryly. "Instead of ingredients."

"I know," Blake mumbled. "So sue me, I like fish."

Yang rolled her eyes. "I know," she agreed.

* * *

"Yang, _how_ did you learn to cook this well?" Weiss moaned after her first mouthful of tilapia filet, baked in a soy-based sauce and open-grilled to dry. "I have _professional chefs_ who can't do half as well?"

Yang shrugged. "I dunno," she said, "I just picked it up."

"Yang," Blake said, " _you're making fish more often_. Okay?"

Yang gave her a grin. "Can do," she promised, and closed her lips around a forkful of salad.

* * *

They watched a movie together, the five of them—some stupid Christmas romance flick, probably from a few decades back, with the 'classic' stereotypical characters and bullet-point development. Yang didn't pay much attention to it. She was much more occupied with Blake's hand in hers and the raven-haired head on her shoulder.

After that, they wished one another good night and spread across the three bedrooms. Yang and Blake retreated to hers.

They didn't make love—they didn't need to, this time. They'd gotten it out of their system. Instead, they just changed into bedclothes and lay together in the light of the moon flowing in through the window.

"Blake?" Yang said quietly as they hovered there on the edge of sleep.

"Yeah?" Blake murmured into her side.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Yang."

"You'll come back, right?"

Blake pushed herself up on her elbow and looked at Yang seriously. "I'll always come back, Yang," she said firmly. "That's a promise."

Yang's eyes met hers. A faint smile touched her lips. "A promise?" she asked.

"Yes."

Yang's eyes closed. "Thank you," she whispered.

* * *

When Yang woke up on Christmas morning, it was to an empty bed and a house chilled by the winter air.

There were tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face, because a good dream is a good dream, even if it is just a dream.

* * *

 **A/N: Because the best gift I can give to Yang, Blake, and the rest of Team RWBY is one more day together.**


End file.
